Catch-and-release Wins Over Anglers In Florida

February 03, 1991|By John Husar.

Seven years of highly restrictive and experimental fishing rules at Florida`s reclaimed phosphate pits near Lakeland convincingly show bass anglers will embrace the principles of catch-and-release to improve their chances of catching a lunker.

Anglers have made 86,000 trips to the Teneroc State Reserve since its pits were opened to the fishing public in 1983.

``We learned fishermen definitely are willing to sacrifice harvest for quality fishing,`` said state biologist Phil Chapman. ``The most popular lakes we had were lakes with the most restrictive bass harvests on them, because fishermen knew they could go to those lakes and catch more fish than they could on other lakes.``

The experiment measured angler acceptance of restrictions as well as any benefits to the bass populations.

Two lakes (dubbed Lakes A and C) strictly demanded catch-and-release, while another (Hydrilla Lake) allowed 10 fish daily with no minimum size provided only flyfishing tackle was used. A fourth (Lake 2) was open only to children 15 or younger and had an 18-inch minimum size limit with a two-fish bag limit.

The last two proved disappointing to the experimenters. On Hydrilla Lake, it was thought that relatively inefficient flyfishing gear would compensate for liberal bag and size limits. But canny ``meat`` anglers exploited a loophole in the law and used flyrods in non-traditional ways, flipping plastic worms and even trolling crankbaits.

They decimated bass populations in the 46-acre lake. On Lake 2, despite the highly restrictive 18-inch minimum and two-fish limit, neither the average bass size nor success rates improved, perhaps because biological conditions in the 44-acre lake limited the population.

According to Don Wilson of the Orlando Sentinel, the two catch-and-release lakes produced eye-popping results, however. Carefully tracking fish populations, fishing pressure, catch rates and the size of the fish, biologists found that recycling bass has unmistakable benefits.

From 1984 through 1989, the total bass population of Lake A increased 529 percent, while the number of bass in Lake C increased 653 percent. The fish also improved in quality.